“Torturing Democracy” when it slipped onto public television this month? If not, PLEASE go to the site and watch it, and you’ll see why the PBS folks are not that thrilled. Of course, this level of cowardice from PBS isn’t exactly new.
Category Archives: television
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Wow! Kinda relevant, huh? 🙂
Wow! National Review Columnist–A Buckley, Even!–Endorses Obama!
Brief Book Review: Post-HipHoppers
This brand-new book occupies the intellectual space between Kevin Powell’s essay collections and Bakari Kitwana’s seminal work.
M.K. Asante, Jr., a filmmaker, poet and college professor, adds his name to the list of young (under 45 🙂 ) Blacks who’ve written works that seek to combine journalism, personal essays and contemporary history, using hiphop of the point of departure. He is an optimistic self-described “artivist,” a 26-year-old writing to inspire younger people who will pick up this book because of its title. It’ll be their text for Black Contemporary Socio-Political Development 101, and believe me, they need it.
Get this book for the teenager (or college-aged young adult) in your life and make him or her read it. Then make him or her look up all of the authors he mentions.
Must-See? No! Fun? YES!
There were SO many ways to mess up a “Knight Rider” revived series, and they failed to mess it up! Last night was on fire! Literally, if you count the first 10 minutes. 🙂
(I missed the backdoor pilot that aired earlier this year. Dang. Had I known it was this good……)
Written by folks who’ve clearly seen at least one episode of “Star Trek” and “Torchwood,” the series premiere was fun and exciting from beginning to end, with the same tone as, say, “Iron Man.”
Trailer Time!
Although I will never be a fan of Reginald Hudlin’s first arc (see my comments at the bottom of this link), I admit this trailer (check the interview below it)—a word-for-word, scene-for-scene adaptation of that story’s first few pages—had me quite excited.
He’s greatly improved (I really liked BP 38), but to be honest, I’ve always thought that Hudlin’s Panther work would make better movies and television than comics. But I think it’s more about me being too old to read modern Marvel Comics. Judging by the first issue, the writer who replaced Hudlin for the current arc made the BET exec seem literary in comparison. 🙂
Did You See……….
….the excellent Harlem Book Fair panel on James Baldwin? The S. Pearl Sharp discussion of Baldwin’s Hollywood adventures—trying to produce a film on El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz—was worth the time alone. And Herb Boyd’s masterful work of moderator-as-narrator. And Baraka. Damn. That’s all they wrote.
CONGRATS To………
…..my nephew Andrew Burroughs Jr., who is being honored this week by the Newark Black Film Festival. His film won the Long Narrative Competition. The award, the 2008 Paul Robeson Award, is being presented by Paul Robeson Jr.
JULY 30th UPDATE: My nephew tells me last night Mr. Robeson is sick, so Richard Wesley is doing the honors. Get well soon, Mr. Robeson.
P.S. In an unrelated note, enjoyed this NPR story on Kevin Powell’s Congressional run. Congrats to you too, K.P.
P.P.S. More unrelated: Congrats to Pacifica’s “Democracy Now!” and NPR’s “Tell Me More” for actually covering what Obama said at “Unity” about reparations, et. al.
The Black Press On CNN
The Man I Loved To Hate
Way, way back when I thought that one day (today) I’d be a famous pundit, I looked forward to locking horns with right-wingers like Tony Snow. His end-of-show commentaries on “Fox News Sunday” never failed to make my teeth grit and shout obscenities at the screen. I looked forward to him one day attacking me by name, seeing it as a badge of honor.
Cat was born to be White House Press Secretary. He should have been in that role for the whole eight years. Bush would’ve been able to lie better.
While watching coverage of his death, I was sincerely moved by the great love he had for his family. So I wish that family well in its time of grief.
Drums in the Global Village 
